Cryo PC offers a nice alternative for those who want a multi-functional HTPC system without having to build it themselves. The Alto offers some nice features, a Core-i3 2100T on a GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 with 4GB of DDR3-1600 and a GT430 give a fairly typical base for an HTPC; it is the 40GB Corsair F40 SSD which makes things a little more interesting. You get a full terabyte of storage from the platter drive, so the dual TV tuners will have plenty of space to write to. In part 1 of their review XSReviews examines the physical system and several benchmarks while in part 2 they see what gaming performance you can expect.

"Media PCs and media centres are becoming more and more common, especially with people losing a little faith in their stalwart desktop system. Today I’m looking at a rig from Cryo PC that looks to bridge the gap between traditional desktop and media centre, offering decent performance in a lounge setting, with some media features thrown in for good measure. I give you the Alto.

Because testing a system can take quite a while, this review is being split into two parts. This first one will focus on raw performance and synthetic testing, while Part 2 will be more gaming and subjective in nature. Shame about the price though."